In April, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden celebrated the third anniversary of Joining Forces, a national initiative to support America’s military service members, veterans, and their families. Since the First Lady officially announced the foundation of this effort and its extension to medical education in January 2012, AACOM and its member institutions have worked to uphold their pledge to this important cause.

On April 23, the First Lady and Dr. Biden, along with other members of the Joining Forces administration, visited Fort Campbell for a comprehensive and free Veterans Jobs Summit and Career Forum. The event brought together national and local government agencies and chambers of commerce to provide attendees with interactive forums and panel discussions focused on providing resources and information for military service members and veterans transition to civilian life. At the event, the First Lady announced the Online Veterans Employment Center—a new website aimed at helping veterans and military service members transition to civilian jobs. The website is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Labor, and Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the Office of Personnel Management and the Small Business Administration.

Since their pledge in 2012, AACOM and its member institutions have supported the Joining Forces initiative through the creation of a variety of medical education curricular resources focused on military medicine, as well as fostering awareness of the need to focus on the unique medical needs of military service members in medical education and training. Visit AACOM’s Joining Forces web page for resources and additional information